A very cold winter's day yesterday, so I decided to dub an old HiFi VCR tape into ProTools. This tape was a backup of several projects recorded in my commercial studio in the 80s and early 90s. At the time everything was recorded to 2 track analogue tape on a Otari MX5050-BII machine. The HiFi VCR (the top model Mitsubishi Black Diamond) seemed like the best way to backup stereo masters.
Yesterday I found that there is some distortion on the playback. It sounds like some sort of noise modulation and is quite apparent when there is a quieter passage, or sudden level change. There is, of course, the lo-fi longitudinal track, but then the highs disappear and there is a noticeable hiss. The problem could be the tape, but more likely it is the playback machine. The $2000 Black Diamond is sadly gone, and I suspect the $200 VCR DVD combos left are not nearly as good with tracking.
As if the analogue tape shedding problem wasn't enough...
Yesterday I found that there is some distortion on the playback. It sounds like some sort of noise modulation and is quite apparent when there is a quieter passage, or sudden level change. There is, of course, the lo-fi longitudinal track, but then the highs disappear and there is a noticeable hiss. The problem could be the tape, but more likely it is the playback machine. The $2000 Black Diamond is sadly gone, and I suspect the $200 VCR DVD combos left are not nearly as good with tracking.
As if the analogue tape shedding problem wasn't enough...
